Belk, Discovery Education and the International Society for Technology in Education have launched the Belk Service Learning Challenge, a comprehensive standards-aligned program encouraging middle school students to facilitate positive changes in their communities by applying critical thinking, problem-solving and creativity skills to a service-learning project of their choice.

Sporting goods and apparel retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors has renewed multi-year contracts with Auburn University and the University of Alabama. The renewal means that it will continue to sell the universities’ licensed products in its 13 Alabama stores.

Those looking to understand how the retail industry will perform in the second quarter and beyond can gain an interesting perspective from the outlook shared by one of the world’s largest diversified packaging companies.

Bi-Lo Holdings and Delhaize Group have received approval from the Federal Trade Commission to proceed with the transaction in which Bi-Lo Holdings will acquire substantially all of the stores in the Sweetbay, Harveys and Reid’s supermarket chains from Delhaize.

Walmart U.S. President and CEO Bill Simon joined 280 of the nation's mayors in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Meeting to announce a new fund for innovation in American manufacturing and a new supplier commitment to bring production of bikes and jobs to South Carolina.

Fresh off another quarter of same store sales growth, Food Lion held grand re-opening activities at 169 stores in North and South Carolina beginning Wednesday, November 13 in observation of investments the company said it has now made in nearly all of its 1,100 stores.

Golfsmith International is teeing up for the opening of its first Xtreme golf store in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The 35,000-sq.-ft. space has been designed to encourage customers to try out products in an interactive hi-tech environment before they buy.

Save-A-Lot, a wholly owned subsidiary of Supervalu, on Monday launched a national search for a team of two interns to serve as brand ambassadors — or more aptly titled Road Scholars — for its 2012 Fuel Your Family Road Trip campaign.

INSIGHTS

SPECIAL REPORTS

Retailer Today’s Best Retailers to Work With special report is now available. We surveyed more than 330 supplier company representatives for this first-of-its-kind research project, and the results are fascinating. Suppliers shared their views about major industry issues and perceptions of the business practices of top trading partners in the areas of leadership, strategy, collaboration and execution.